Mumbai colleges open up new academic avenues for students
Teaching beyond classrooms has now found a new meaning across many city colleges, with number of institutions opting for collaborations with international universities. Other than the regular student exchange programmes and inviting guest lecturers, colleges are now providing certificate programmes in affiliation with such universities. Moreover, several institutions have also signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with international varsities so that students can avail dual certificates in the same academic year.
“We collaborated with Ohio University (OU) and introduced a six months certificate programme in Sports Management this year for the first time. Virtual lectures are being conducted by professors from OU as well as our own staff, and the students are learning much more than what books can teach,” said Anju Kapoor, principal, UPG College in Vile Parle.
For the first batch, the college had managed to put together a class of 30-odd students and lectures are held in the evening to match up with the time difference as lectures at OU are conducted early morning. “Students are happy to stay in college after their regular hours to attend these lectures,” she added.
With the aim of setting up better training facilities in the city, the Garware Institute of Career Education & Development, University of Mumbai signed an MoU with America India Foundation last week. The institute will now be offer skill-based courses to students from financially strained backgrounds and give them a chance at learning skills required to be at par with their counterparts from across the world.
“The collaboration will help students learn skills from professionals in our country as well as the US, and this will be very fruitful for students in this competitive day and age,” said a MU spokesperson.
Student and faculty exchange programmes have been a regular feature at colleges for some time now and students find such experiences very helpful.
“As part of a student exchange programme, we have lived at host homes in other countries where we’ve been treated like family and studied in their classrooms. Not only has the experience been enriching culturally, but academically too. We learnt new things that our education system lacks at present,” said Sachi Pandya, a student of Lala Lajpatrai College. Some colleges, including HR College at Churchgate has also regularly conducted exchange programs for their professors in order to upgrade their teaching methods.
In November, Jai Hind College, Churchgate, will be inviting a senior professor of a Dublin-based university for an interaction with its students. “The purpose is to build cross cultural relations with the help of universities abroad. The academic flexibility those universities offer students is something we need to learn and learning happens through such interactions,” said Ashok Wadia, principal, adding, “Students of the college will also participate in an exchange programme next year.”
